RWAs' Joint Front and Campaign Against Power Tariff Hike to convey their resentment over the issue

Black badges to be worn as a mark of protest

Warning that the stir could take a turn for the worse

NEW DELHI:
Not satisfied with the response of the Sheila Dikshit Government to their problems and the demand for a rollback of the 10 per cent increase in power tariffs recently, the Delhi Residents' Welfare Associations Joint Front and the Campaign Against Power Tariff Hike (CAPTH) have decided to observe this Saturday, August 6, as "Black Day'' as a mark of protest.

The movement against the power sector reforms and the "indifferent attitude'' of the Delhi Government and the private distribution companies seems to be gaining momentum with a majority of the Residents' Welfare Associations joining hands under various forums to lodge their strong protests over the fast deteriorating power supply, declining quality of services, failure of the Delhi Government to roll back the 10 per cent hike, besides the problems of "fast-running meters" and "inflated bills".

"We have decided to gather at the Defence Colony Park in the evening to convey our sentiments on the issue.

The effort is to put the Government and the service providers to shame for the callous and indifferent approach in dealing with the problems of the consumers and issues raised by the RWAs,'' said Pankaj Aggarwal of the Delhi RWAs' Joint Front.

Appealing to all the residents to participate in this protest, Mr. Aggarwal said everyone would be wearing black badges "to convey their strong resentment against the connivance of the Government and the private power distribution companies".

People's Action convener Sanjay Kaul said there was a deliberate attempt to block entry of competition in the sector as it would benefit the consumers.

He said if a third competitor was introduced, it would bring down tariffs by almost 35 per cent and bring about a dramatic improvement in the services provided.

Terming the recent tariff hike, the fast-running meters and the inflated bills as a daylight robbery, CAPTH is of the view that the Delhi Government, private discoms and the DERC have betrayed the trust of the people.

Warning that the agitation could take a turn for the worse, it said each household feels robbed and the people have no other alternative but to undertake a civil disobedience movement, the details of which would be released later.